The purpose of this document is to assist in both the performer’s preparation and performance of Áskell Másson’s Marimba Concerto for orchestra through an understanding of the thematic material, which the work is founded. This author believes that an understanding of the formal structure and thematic development of the concerto is essential to realizing a musical performance. Background information on Áskell Másson, including a brief biography and discussion of compositional style and output, are provided to further enhance the understanding and performance of the concerto. Also included is a compilation of interviews with the composer, offering insight into Másson’s past, current and future accounts, which is meaningful to the composition and performance of the work itself. Performance suggestions are provided by the author as a medium of interpretation and are related to the thematic structure of the work. As part of this document and for purposes of the accompanying recital, the author has generated a piano reduction of the orchestral score with collaboration from the composer. The piano reduction will also enhance the possibilities of future performances, making it increasingly accessible. The piano reduction of the Marimba Concerto will be published through Editions Bim, also the publisher for the concerto. It is the author’s belief that this document will provide a basis of study for future performers of Áskell Másson’s Marimba Concerto.

This thesis presents a six-mallet technique developed by the author along with a pedagogical guide teaching that technique. Included in the thesis are the following components: 1) a DVD which demonstrates how to learn the technique, with performances of significant compositions for six mallets; and 2) a pedagogical survey of recommended works written for six mallets on a scale from relatively simple to highly complex, giving students a repertoire of pieces from which they can develop six-mallet marimba technique. / viii, 80 leaves : col. ill. ; 29 cm

Musicians are on stage not only to be heard but also to be seen. The visual aspects of music are a crucial part of the experience. Whether performers move too much or too little for a particular audience member, their gestures are often noticed. Some audiences may enjoy certain gestures while others may find them distracting. To study this topic in greater detail, I view my research through the lens of marimba performance. The marimba is a large instrument that can involve many movements to produce a sound. The way marimbists move while playing is noticed due to the nature of the instrument. When I interviewed ten professional marimbists in a 2011/2012 study, most participants discussed distracting gestures as a negative part of performance and said that they try to avoid extra gestures unless they relate to the music. The same participants were video recorded performing four excerpts from standard marimba repertoire by Gordon Stout, J.S. Bach, and Keiko Abe. The results of the analysis include: 1) gesture repetition in multiple takes of the same excerpt; 2) movement-areas of the body that I observed most in each participant; 3) a comparison of each participant to the others; and 4) results, patterns, and trends. This research also includes a discussion of literature in visual aspects of music performance, insight to why performers move the way that they do, an explanation of “sound producing” versus “ancillary gestures”, and a detailed discussion of my research study. Although this study will not lead to conclusions that can be applied to all marimbists, it will, however, provide an important contribution to physical gesture research in music performance by presenting patterns and trends from a comparative study of ten professional musicians.

Musicians are on stage not only to be heard but also to be seen. The visual aspects of music are a crucial part of the experience. Whether performers move too much or too little for a particular audience member, their gestures are often noticed. Some audiences may enjoy certain gestures while others may find them distracting. To study this topic in greater detail, I view my research through the lens of marimba performance. The marimba is a large instrument that can involve many movements to produce a sound. The way marimbists move while playing is noticed due to the nature of the instrument. When I interviewed ten professional marimbists in a 2011/2012 study, most participants discussed distracting gestures as a negative part of performance and said that they try to avoid extra gestures unless they relate to the music. The same participants were video recorded performing four excerpts from standard marimba repertoire by Gordon Stout, J.S. Bach, and Keiko Abe. The results of the analysis include: 1) gesture repetition in multiple takes of the same excerpt; 2) movement-areas of the body that I observed most in each participant; 3) a comparison of each participant to the others; and 4) results, patterns, and trends. This research also includes a discussion of literature in visual aspects of music performance, insight to why performers move the way that they do, an explanation of “sound producing” versus “ancillary gestures”, and a detailed discussion of my research study. Although this study will not lead to conclusions that can be applied to all marimbists, it will, however, provide an important contribution to physical gesture research in music performance by presenting patterns and trends from a comparative study of ten professional musicians.

abstract: The marimba has garnered increased attention in percussion performance over the past thirty years. Literature for beginners through professionals in a multitude of styles have been written. With the ever-growing number of marimbists since the 1980's there has been a high demand for new works. Numerous pieces were created through commissions: composers contracted to write music by individuals, institutions, and consortia. Three primary types of marimba solo music were written: unaccompanied solos, concerti, and marimba solos with electronic accompaniment. Since electronic music is relatively new in marimba performance, there is very little information published regarding this topic. Only a handful of well-known compositions in this genre have been widely performed, and a great number of existing works are unfamiliar to the percussion world. The goal of this study is to generate an overview of electronic music in marimba performance by compiling a chronological catalog of compositions written for solo marimba with electronics. In addition, this study wishes to promote this genre of solo marimba music through the commission, performance, examination, and recording of a new work for marimba and electronics. It is the author's wish to bring this topic to percussionists' attention, and to enrich the marimba solo literature by both exploring existing literature and encouraging the commissioning and performance of marimba music. / Dissertation/Thesis / Flux for Marimba and Electronic Tape (2011) by Mei-Fang Lin / D.M.A. Music 2011

No description available.

ABSTRACT Marimba Rossa is a three-movement concert piece for marimba and symphony orchestra. The 14-minute piece is written in the spirit of the Italian Baroque concertos of Antonio Vivaldi (the "Red Priest" for whom the piece is named), using a harmonic and rhythm language that is heavily influenced by the concert and pop music of the late twentieth-century. Marimba Rossa was composed with the concept of Ars Combinatoria in mind. First espoused by George Rochberg in 1973, Ars Combinatoria is concert music that uses musical gestures drawn from any musical tradition. The accompanying monograph provides a detailed history of the modern concert marimba and an account of the evolution of its concert and popular music repertoire. Specific information about the marimba's origins in Asia, its place in the Bible, the development of the European strohfiedel xylophone, the refinement of the instrument in America, and a discussion of the Guatemalan, Mexican, and Japanese / Music Composition / Accompanied by two .pdf scores: 1) Marimba Rossa: for marimba and orchestra. 2) Marimba Rossa I.

This dissertation introduces a method of melodic improvisation that is designed for the high school percussionist. Teaching improvisation to the modern music student can be challenging, as the concept of creating music spontaneously is unfamiliar to the typical music student. While improvisation techniques exist within jazz education, some students are overwhelmed by the complex harmony and sheer amount of study and practice that is required to improvise within the style of jazz. This dissertation proposes a method of improvising that incorporates commonly known four-mallet marimba repertoire as a point of departure for improvisation. Utilizing ideas from ethnomusicologist Bruno Nettl (b. 1930-2020) and music researcher Jeff Pressing (b.1949-2002), I have crafted a pedagogical method for improvising at the marimba that is accessible to the high school percussionist. Five marimba solos are be used as examples in this document and the accompanying lecture recital to demonstrate how this method functions. The goal for this project is to give percussionists an obtainable way to begin improvising at the marimba utilizing music that they are already comfortable playing. It is important to note that when the term "music student" without further specification, I am referring to a high school musician who studies classical music in the United States.

This study is an examination of Earl Hatch and Clair Musser's transcriptions for marimba of Chopin's Waltz, Opus 64 No. 1, Musser's arrangement of Chopin's Mazurka, Opus 17 No. 4, Hatch's setting of Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5, and Frank Mac Callum's treatment of Franck's "Chorale" from the Prelude, Chorale and Fugue. Additionally, the role of the transcription during the Romantic Period, the historical development of the marimba transcription, and performance considerations of the specific works presented are discussed.

Text in English, abstracts in English and Zulu / This thesis explores the current state of marimba music performance practice in Zimbabwe. I begin by presenting a historical perspective of the marimba, and then discuss how the Zimbabwe marimba tradition came into being at Kwanongoma College of African Music in Bulawayo. The study continues to unveil how the relatively new marimba tradition has grown to popularity in its 55-year history in the country, with the phenomenal emergence of professional Zimbabwe marimba musicians. The thesis includes analyses of marimba musicians’ lived experiences, traditional and contemporary marimba music compositions, marimba music education programs and mentors, as well as the Zimbabwe marimba construction industry. Using ethnographic methods, the analysis in this qualitative study draws on an application of Christopher Small, Richard Schechner, and Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical perspectives, amongst others. Results show that marimba music performance practice in Zimbabwe has been kept alive in various permutations, albeit in a harsh economic environment. Education, passion for marimba music, cultural tourism, and festivities are the main avenues where Zimbabwe marimba music performance practice has survived on the margins of Zimbabwe’s popular musical cultural traditions. / Le thesis ihlola isimo samanje somculo wemarimba kanye nokuqhutshwa kwawo eZimbabwe. Ngiqala ngokwethula imibono yezomlando ngemarimba, ebese ngixoxa ngokuthi ngabe usiko lwenkambiso yemarimba eZimbabwe lwaqhamuka kanjani eKwanongoma College of African Music eBulawayo. Ucwaningo luqhubeka luveze ukuthi umculo wemarimba omusha usheshe kangakanani ukukhula nokuba nedumela kumlando weminyaka engu 55 ezweni, kanti futhi nokwenza ukuthi abaculi bemarimba eZimbambwe basebenze ngesiprofeshini. Le thesis ibandakanya ukuhlaziya izipiliyoni zabaculi bemarimba, usiko kanye nokuqanjwa komculo wemarimba, izinhlelo zemfundo yomculo wemarimba kanye nabaqeqeshi abafundisa abasha emculweni, kanye nokwakhiwa kwemboni yomculo wemarimba eZimbabwe. Ukusebenzisa izindlela zesayense yokuchaza abantu eyaziwa ngokuthi yi-ethnography, uhlaziyo kulolu cwaningo olubheka kanzulu, lufunde nokuchaphuna kwimibono yochwepheshe yethiyori yabantu abafana no-Christopher Small, uRichard Schechner kanye no-Pierre Bourdieu phakathi kwabanye. Imiphumela ikhombisa ukuthi ukwenziwa komculo wemarimba eZimbabwe wenziwe ukuthi uqhubeke ngokusebenzisa inqubo yokuhlela izinto ngokuhambelana noma inqubo ye-permutations, kodwa ngaphansi kwesimo esinzima kwezomnotho. Imfundo, ugqozi lomculo wemarimba, inqubo yezovakasho lokufunda ngamasiko kanye nemicimbi ngenye yezindlela lapho khona umculo wemarimba eZimbabwe oboniswa khona nokwaze ukuqhubeka ngayo, nangendlela esetshenzisiwe ukwenza ukuthi umculo uqhubeke nokuba nedumela ngisho nangaphansi kwesimo esinzima eZimbabwe. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Musicology)